Insurance: Non-Life Business Now Enters Growth Phase

MUMBAI: After playing second fiddle to the life insurance industry for several years, the non-life business has roared back into growth mode. In the first six months of the current fiscal, the industry has recorded 23% growth and there are signs that profitability has improved as well.

“In a stable price environment, the non-life industry should grow by 2-2 .5 times the rate of GDP growth. What we are now seeing is some stability in pricing coupled with opening up of hitherto untapped sectors because of government schemes like the Rashtriya Swastha Bima Yojana,” said ICICI managing director Bhargav Dasgupta . The growth rate in the first half is almost twice the 13% growth recorded in the whole of 2009-10 .

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For the first half of the current fiscal, private insurers have recorded total premium of . 9,204 crore against . 7,312 crore in FY10 — recording a growth of 25.9%. Stateowned insurers have collected total premium of . 14,500 crore in the first half of FY11 against . 11,184 crore in the previous year — resulting in a 21% growth.

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Among companies, HDFC Ergo continues to be one of the most aggressive growing by 49%. ICICI Lombard General Insurance — leader among private companies — has grown 32%. Tata AIG General has also managed a 33% growth despite its foreign parent’s troubles internationally.